1/30/2017

I AM MICHAEL isn't a great film, nor is it as emotionally draining as one would think given the subject. Rather, it feels like the movie keeps its audience at arm's length throughout. There's probably a very good movie to be made from the material, but this one is mediocre. Still, Franco and Quinto are great, and while it's dry, it's also always watchable.

Average Rating:

5,8/10

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2017 (USA)

Duration:

1h 38min

Genre:

Biography, Drama

Director:

Justin Kelly

Writer:

Justin Kelly

Stars:

James Franco, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto

I AM MICHAEL is the incredible true-life story of Michael Glatze (Franco), a high profile gay youth activist who created a national controversy when he claimed to no longer be gay and became a straight Christian pastor. The film follows Michael from his life in San Francisco with his boyfriend Bennett (Quinto), where he pursues political activism, a journalist career at XY Magazine, social awareness, and sexual exploration, to his days of personal self-discovery. After a traumatic scare, Michael is plagued by doubt and paranoia, and begins a religious reawakening. Michael renounces his gay lifestyle, rejects his friends, and endeavors to find his "true self." He explores Buddhism and Mormonism, yet ultimately lands at a Christian Bible school in rural Wyoming where he meets his girlfriend, Rebekah (Roberts), and becomes the pastor of his own church. This powerful new film captures one man's haunting journey through modern concepts of love, denial and redemption.

1/14/2017

For a lot of people, I Promise You Anarchy will be a bit of chore. Unless you’re will to fully commit, it’ll be difficult to escape the sensation that not a lot is happening fairly slowly. The film has a somewhat documentary quality, mixed with moments of heightened reality. It means the film takes its time, and has sections where it’s not always 100% clear how they fit into the whole. However, under the surface there are some interesting things happening, especially when the film explores the deepening feelings between the men – indeed, the movie anchors itself as a love story – and what those feelings are based on.

Average Rating:

6,8/10

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

26 August 2016 (Mexico)

Duration:

1h 28min

Genre:

Drama

Director:

Julio Hernández Cordón

Writer:

Julio Hernández Cordón

Stars:

Diego Calva Hernández, Eduardo Eliseo Martinez, Shvasti Calderón

At its heart, a love story between two lost boys, I PROMISE YOU ANARCHY manages to be at once chilling and heart-rending. Miguel, from a middle-class family, and Johnny, from a humble barrio, are skateboarders, are best friends and lovers. To finance their lifestyle, they sell their own blood, and those of their gang of skateboarders and acquaintances, to clandestine clinics, until a big delivery job for the mafia goes wrong. Echoing the laid back eroticism of Gus Van Sant at his most playful, with shades of a modern-day neo-noir, this visually arresting film is a sumptuous and occasionally chilling journey into the illicit underbelly of Mexico’s capital.

The film is directed by Rob Chuter, a noted Australian director and he chose not to downplay the passion about the subject matter, and he reminds us of how very difficult some situations were, and still are, for same sex couples. The two leads are both excellent and buff enough to participate in naked sensual lovemaking scenes, but that they are both very talented well-known Australian actors. Make sure you have tissues handy; there is a lot of emotion in the film.

Average Rating:

6,1/10

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2015 (USA)

Duration:

1h 38min

Genre:

Drama

Director:

Robert Chuter

Writer:

Julia Britton

Stars:

Graeme Squires, Nicholas Gunn, Jessikah Brown

Troubled TV personality Steven Evans struggles to find meaning in his life in the face of the superficial world he has created. Smothered by celebrity and materialism, Steven's only respite is through solitary visits to the ocean and shallow sexual encounters with the acquaintances that orbit his life. When his long-term partner hurls him headfirst into fatherhood, Steven's initial reluctance is gradually replaced with love, as he discovers, in his new family, a bond stronger than any he has experienced before. But the return of an unexpected visitor triggers off a series of events that thrusts Steven and his family into a cycle of loneliness, self-destruction and grief.

12/28/2016

Jacob York was definitely one of the most memorable things about last year’s Paternity Leave, playing a gay man whose life gets flipped upside down when he discovers he’s one of a bunch of men who’ve inexplicably become pregnant. Now York has reteamed with his Paternity Leave director, Matt Riddlehoover, for What’s The Matter With Gerald. York and Cash give intuitive performances... quite delightful.

Average Rating:

6,1/10

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 2016 (USA)

Duration:

1h 39min

Genre:

Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Director:

Matt Riddlehoover

Writer:

Matt Riddlehoover

Stars:

Jacob York, Kathy Cash, Jonathan Everett

Gerald (Jacob York), a semi-alcoholic trust-fund baby, wakes up every morning in some sort of pain, and he can't figure out why. His doctors are just as stumped – he's tried everything from acupuncture to reflexology with no results. Is Gerald really ill? Or is he merely a hypochondriac, as everyone else in his social circle seems to think? At his wits' end – and against the explicit wishes of his practical partner, Charles (Jonathan Everett) – Gerald takes the advice of a friend and consults with an energy healer. He visits May (Kathy Cash), a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking jeweler, and is shocked when the gemstones she sells him magically ease his pain. This unexpected stroke of luck prompts Gerald to reexamine his life in new and unexpected ways, taking him out of a well-established rut and leading him to wonder whether he can make the necessary changes to be more fulfilled.

12/27/2016

Boys On Film is a Peccadillo Pictures DVD series of films LGBT theme. Peccadillo Pictures is a UK-based film distributor of art house, gay and lesbian, independent and world cinema. They have provided distribution for many films such as Weekend, Tomboy, XXY, Eyes Wide Open, Four Minutes, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Transylvania, Cockles and Muscles, Summer Storm, The Guest House and Chemsex.
The Boys on Film series has breathed new life into short films throughout the UK and around the world. Always featuring award winning films from already established filmmakers as well as up and coming talent, they have the ability to surprise, entertain, arouse and provoke debate. From Sundance to Cannes, from Iris Prize to the Academy Awards, the 'Boys on Film' series has grown from strength to strength.

12/24/2016

From director Casper Andreas (Going Down in LA-LA Land) and screenwriter David Michael Barrett (Such Good People) comes Kiss Me, Kill Me, a new gay murder mystery starring Queer as Folk icon Gale Harold and As the World Turns three-time Emmy nominee Van Hansis. Set in glamorous West Hollywood, “Kiss Me, Kill Me” is contemporary film noir/murder mystery in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie.

Average Rating:

5,3/10

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2015 (USA)

Duration:

1h 40min

Genre:

Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Director:

Casper Andreas

Writer:

David Michael Barrett

Stars:

Van Hansis, Gale Harold, Brianna Brown

The story is as follows: Stephen Redding is a successful reality TV producer with a big house in the hills and a trophy boyfriend, Dusty Young. But at Stephen’s birthday party, Dusty discovers he had an affair with super hot Craigery. Humiliated, Dusty leaves the party, walks down to a convenience store. Stephen follows; trying to explain the affair is over, but out of nowhere — Dusty sees a flash and blacks out. When he comes to, Dusty learns Stephen was murdered along with convenience store clerk. With the police closing in, it’s up to Dusty to track down the killer and clear his name as the prime suspect. QUEER AS FOLK’s Gale Harold, Brianna Brown (DEVIOUS MAIDS), Van Hansis (EASTSIDERS), Craig Robert Young (THE LAST SHIP), Shangela (RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE) and QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY’s Jai Rodriguez co-star in this over the top and very sexy murder mystery, an entertaining guilty pleasure.